Mary-Anne Stokes’ morning begins, like most parents, in rallying her three primary school children from their beds to the breakfast table, into freshly ironed uniforms, and rounds off by walking them through the St Therese’s school gate with lunchboxes and backpacks ready for the school day.
And again, like many others, it’s off to work; for Mary-Anne this means joining her husband Peter to oversee the operations of their family-owned drilling business. When Mary-Anne attended a social gathering at St Therese’s School almost 5 years ago she wasn’t sure what to expect.
Mary-Anne describes her first experience in the community as warm and welcoming; “I just felt like I belonged.” Mary-Anne believes the relationship between home and school is vital and getting to know the teachers and staff at school has led to a better understanding of the needs of her children both at school and at home.
Mary-Anne’s youngest child has an ASD diagnosis, and the collaboration between home and school has been essential to create and support the right environment for him to learn and develop.
As an active member of the parent-volunteer community, Mary-Anne recognises there are many parents who, like her, skilfully balance the responsibilities of work and home life and she is so happy that she is part of the St Therese’s community.
“St Therese’s is a real family community, everybody bands together, everybody lends a hand; the STS community is just awesome”.
St Therese’s School prides itself on its community involvement and the relationship that they build with the families of their students – and that’s not just parents, either.
St Therese’s School hosts an annual ‘Grandparents Day’, where grandparents are invited to come along and get to know their grandchildren’s school, too!
If you would like to find out more about the community at St Therese’s School, or you’d like to enrol, head to www.stthereses.qld.edu.au and book a school tour with a member of our Leadership Team.
